Yesterday it was very windy and we were worried about the road to the pass - so instead of driving to the pass to ski on Pyramid we stayed close to home and skied Pillar Mountain. I picked Nora up from school and we drove literally 3 minutes to the base of the mountain to begin our climb. On the way up we could see the High School and Nora noted when the buses arrived to take the other kids home. If you look closely in the photo above you can even see the high school and buses just in front and above Nora's knee. You can also see the Alutiiq Museum where I work under the bridge and behind Nora's knees. Pillar Mountain is in our backyard!
And the skiing was pretty good - might even have been better than it would have been on Pyramid. The wind was out of the southwest and on Pyramid that is a bad wind. It screams from that direction. So Pyramid would have had wind effected snow and we would have been sand blasted with blowing snow. On Pillar there was practically no wind in the lee of the mountain, and we even found some nice snow in the spruce trees. And best of all we had a glorious view of town and out over the Gulf of Alaska.
I think we'll be skiing Pillar more often in the future!
Patrick
Yesterday we had a quick little storm that deposited 1-2 feet of snow at the pass. In the morning it was snowing hard in town and then at quiting time it conveniently cleared off. If I could actually get my car to the pass I was hopeful of some epic powder. But it was not to be.
I did get my car to the pass - barely. My car was acting like a snowplow and blowing snow up over the car as the undercarriage scraped along the top of the powder. I had to keep up my momentum not to get bogged down. And pray that I did not meet someone coming the other way!
Then when I got to the pass and it was blowing a gale out of the west. I climbed up the mountain and found that the snow was all wind effected except right down near the road. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. My epic ski was not to be.
Patrick
 |
| Look closely and you'll see snowboard tracks |
Here on Kodiak it's been a winter wonderland of late. Dry snow right to the tideline and temperatures in the teens at night. Absolutely lovely! Around here conditions like this do not tend to last very long. Indeed it is supposed to rain tonight. So I've been getting out and enjoying it as much as possible.
Based on their energy levels on walks the dogs also like the snow. In Abercrombie I even saw XC ski tracks. Brewster blends in with the white snow and looks yellow while Bode is a black ball.
At the beach the snow has covered all the yucky things like dead fish and barnacles that the dogs usually find and eat. It also covered the driftwood I have been collecting for night time fires at home. On walks I generally grab a couple of pieces and saw them up when I get home. Usually just enough for one fire. But now I'll have to wait awhile or maybe go for some standing cottonwoods on my way out the road for a ski.
Patrick
Yesterday afternoon Nora, Stuey and I climbed up Pyramid for a ski. It was a pretty good day - new powder snow, sun and not a breath of wind. Also, as Nora put it, 'everybody and their 6th cousin' had the same idea. I have never seen that many people on the mountain at the same time. It was even hard to find a place to park at the start of the climb. Oh well, that's what we get on a weekend when it snows in town. And too many people is not such a bad thing - it makes for a far more social ski.
Even with all the skiers there is plenty of mountain. And it seems that most of the skiers do not explore much. Most go down the way they came up - so it is pretty easy to find untracked lines.
On the mountain we caught up with Uncle Dicky and all climbed up together. Then skied down together. Nora joined Brent and Vonn for some extra runs while Stuey and I skied on down to the car. While we waited for Nora we checked out the scene at the parking lot. Stuck trucks, kids sledding, fires and grills, dogs and snow machines. Even a low pass by a Coast Guard rescue helicopter. Sort of like the modern day mountain version of a Dutch skating scene you see in paintings or a 20th century version of a Currier and Ives print.
Patrick
Yesterday it snowed - a lot, and it was a dry storm with not a lot of wind. So we got good snow for cross country skiing down low and good snow for downhill skiing on high. So we did the double dip and went cross country skiing in the morning and downhill in the afternoon. We got our cake and ate it too!
We thought it would clear up for the afternoon ski but it did not. It pretty much snowed all day. So on Pyramid Nora got to experience the vertigo of a whiteout. You ski down the hill and with no reference points it is often difficult to know which way is down - a very weird feeling. But lower down on the mountain there were plenty of bushes and trees for reference points and the powder skiing was excellent. We even did two runs (see bottom video for snow conditions).
For the cross country ski we went up the long slow hill on 'Burma' road below Barometer Mountain. I love this ski because the alders by the road often create a tunnel. Also you ski up and up slowly enough that you do not notice that you are climbing. And then for the ski back to the car at the end it is a great long swoosh. You can double pole the whole way with the doggies chasing along behind.
Today it looks to be sunny with no wind - so Pyramid here we come!
Patrick
Here are some pictures and a video from the last week on Pyramid. We continue to have pretty good skiing. We've been getting storms on a pretty regular basis. Snow, Ice and wind, and the snow pack gets deeper and deeper on high.
This morning here at the house it is snowing and we already have 6 inches or so of new snow. Snow in town usually means dry snow on high that blows off of the mountain. It also means lots of other skiers on the mountain. Competition for first tracks! For some reason a lot of people only think you can ski on Pyramid when there is snow in town - this even though you can always see the snow on the mountains all around town. And now there will be snow in town.
I like snow in town because it means I can go cross country skiing without having to go far!
Patrick
 |
| Ryan in a whiteout |
 |
| Nora took these pictures and I stitched together to make a pan |
 |
| After this ice storm we had boilerplate conditions for a couple of days |
